NBA Twitter Raves About Patrick Williams as Bulls Cruise Past Hornets

On a night that saw both DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine struggle from the field, shooting a combined 6-of-27, the Chicago Bulls needed someone to pick up the slack.

Enter Patrick Williams.

The young Bulls forward put up his second straight strong performance after a rough start to the season, pacing the team with 16 points, five rebounds and two blocks in Wednesday's 106-88 win over the 3-5 Charlotte Hornets.

Javonte Green (17 points, eight rebounds) and Goran Dragić (16 points) added solid performances off the bench, spoiling a big game from Charlotte's Kelly Oubre Jr. (24 points).

But the night belonged to Williams, and NBA Twitter took notice:

Williams looked lost out on the court in the team's first four games, averaging 5.3 points per game in those contests. But he's looked like a different player since, especially in Tuesday's 108-99 win over the Brooklyn Nets that saw him put up 12 points, seven rebounds and two blocks.

It was the sort of production that head coach Billy Donovan believes is regularly attainable for Williams.

"He has to make a decision that this is the kind of player that I want to be, that I know I can be," he told reporters after the game. "It's not like we're putting him in a box and saying, 'Hey, your job is to play defense and pass the ball to people.' He has to take advantage of his opportunities. And I thought [Tuesday] it came from within."

It appeared to come from within on Wednesday as well, on a night when the Bulls really needed their role players to step up. It's a promising sign for the 5-4 Bulls, who will be a much scarier team if Williams has found another gear.